This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2028.
NASA plans to launch Dragonfly, a robotic rotorcraft probe which will explore Saturn's moon Titan.[1]
NASA plans to launch Artemis 4. The first to use SLS Block 1B.
Russia expects to launch the Luna 27 lunar lander in 2028.
Chang'e 8, the last mission before China’s moon base begins construction, is planned to launch.
The first uncrewed flight of Orel, Russia's replacement for the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, is scheduled for 2028.
India plans to launch the first module for the Bharatiya Antariksha Station in 2028.[2] India also plans to launch the Chandrayaan-4 lunar mission.
The Rosalind Franklin (rover) aims to launch to Mars.[3]
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Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||||
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Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |||
Remarks | ||||||||
March | ||||||||
March (TBD)[4] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
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UAESA | Heliocentric | Asteroid flyby and landing | |||||
Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA). | ||||||||
June | ||||||||
Q2 (TBD)[5] | ![]() |
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TBA | TBA | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) #18 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
H1 2028 (TBD)[7] | ![]() |
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NASA | Sun–Earth L1 | Infrared astronomy Near-Earth object detection |
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Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission (NEOSM).[6] Launch scheduled for no later than June 2028. | ||||||||
July | ||||||||
July (TBD)[1] | ![]() |
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NASA | Heliocentric (to Saturn) | Exploration of Titan | |||||
Rotorcraft probe to fly in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. | ||||||||
July (TBD)[10] | ![]() |
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JAXA | Low Earth (SSO) | Heliophysics | |||||
Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission.[8][9] | ||||||||
August | ||||||||
August (TBD)[11] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
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CONAE | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
September | ||||||||
September (TBD)[14] | ![]() |
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NASA | Selenocentric (NRHO) | Crewed Gateway expedition Crewed lunar landing |
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ESA | Selenocentric (NRHO) | Lunar Gateway component | |||||
Third crewed Orion flight, second Artemis lunar landing, and first lunar landing with 4 crew members.[12] First launch of the SLS Block 1B variant with the Exploration Upper Stage. Delivery of I-HAB to the Lunar Gateway.[13] | ||||||||
Q3 (TBD)[5] | ![]() |
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TBA | TBA | Geosynchronous | TBA | |||||
Multi-Launch Service (MLS) #3 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
December | ||||||||
Q4 (TBD)[15][16] | ![]() |
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ESA | Low Earth (Polar) | Earth observation | |||||
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme. | ||||||||
Q4 (TBD)[5] | ![]() |
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TBA | TBA | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
SSMS #19 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
To be determined | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[17] | ![]() |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth | Communications | |||||
Maiden flight of Amur, a partially reusable methane-powered launch vehicle. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[19] | ![]() |
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ISRO | Cytherocentric | Venus orbiter | |||||
2028 (TBD)[20] | ![]() |
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Roscosmos | TLItolunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
Third mission of Luna-Glob Programme. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[21][22] | ![]() |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth | Flight test | |||||
First uncrewed test flight of Russia's new crewed spacecraft, Orel. First launch of Angara A5 from Vostochny. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[21][24] | ![]() |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Flight test | |||||
First flight of the Angara A5P, a crew-rated variant of the Angara A5.[23] An uncrewed Orel capsule will be sent to the International Space Station to test docking procedures. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[21][25][23] | ![]() |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Crewed flight test | |||||
Crewed flight test of the Orel capsule to the International Space Station. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[26][27] | ![]() |
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ESA | Low Earth (Polar) | Earth observation | |||||
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[29][30] | ![]() |
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JAXA / NAOJ | Low Earth (SSO) | Astrometric observatory | |||||
2028 (TBD)[32] | ![]() |
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Yahsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
Replacement for Yahsat 1B (Al Yah 2).[31] | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[14][33] | ![]() |
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SpaceX / NASA | Selenocentric (NRHO) | Gateway logistics | |||||
First Lunar Gateway resupply mission, using the Dragon XL logistics module. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[34] | ![]() |
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JMA | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | |||||
2028 (TBD)[35] | ![]() |
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CNSA | Selenocentrictolunar surface | Lunar lander ISRU demonstration |
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2028 (TBD)[2] | ![]() |
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ISRO | Low Earth | Space station module | |||||
First module for ISRO's Bharatiya Antariksha space station. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[36] | ![]() |
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ISRO | Low Earth (ISS) | Resupply Spacecraft | |||||
India's first resupply mission to BAS. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[37] | ![]() |
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Starlab Space | Low Earth | Space station | |||||
Starlab Space is a joint venture between Voyager Space (Nanoracks) and Airbus. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[38][39] | ![]() |
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RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
Replacement for Ekspress-AM7 at 40° East. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[15] | ![]() |
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ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
Fourth Sentinel-3 satellite. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[42] | ![]() |
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U.S. Space Force | Low Earth (SSO) | Space weather | |||||
2028 (TBD)[44] | ![]() |
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ESA | TMItoMartian surface | Mars lander | |||||
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ESA | TMItoMartian surface | Mars rover | |||||
ExoMars mission. Delayed and retooled due to the suspension of ESA–Russia cooperation on ExoMars.[43] | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[45] | ![]() |
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NASA / ESA | TMItoMartian surface | Mars sample-return | |||||
First lander component of the NASA–ESA Mars sample-return mission. It will carry NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle and two sample recovery Ingenuity class helicopters. | ||||||||
2028 (TBD)[47] | ![]() |
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CASC / INPE | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation |
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Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
March (TBD)[48] | ![]() |
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DLR / SNSA | Suborbital | Education | ||||
March (TBD)[48] | ![]() |
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DLR / SNSA | Suborbital | Education | ||||
October (TBD)[48] | ![]() |
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DLR | Suborbital | Microgravity research | ||||
November (TBD)[48] | ![]() |
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DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity research | ||||
November (TBD)[48] | ![]() |
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DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity research |
Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
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Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
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For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
Remarks |
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Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
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Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
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Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
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Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
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Orbital regime | Launches | Achieved | Not achieved | Accidentally achieved |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transatmospheric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Low Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Geosynchronous / transfer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Medium Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
High Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Heliocentric orbit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Including planetary transfer orbits |
Generic references: